Your community, your West Cork, your southern star

If you go down into the woods today, you could be in for a big surprise: a bad encounter with a sick tick.

In Ireland, the most common tick of Lyme disease causing ticks is the castor tick, Ixodes ricinus, which could cling to the skin and cause indescribable misery, for years into the future .

Cork and Kerry are now identified hot spots for ticks with spring and summer their most active periods.

Lyme ticks live on reptiles, birds and a wide variety of mammals. Cats, dogs and horses are good hosts, but they survive in many different environments.

If it is not treated for more than 12-24 hours, a tick bite could have serious consequences, leading to Lyme disease. disease.

Also known as Lyme borreliosis, it is caused by borrelia bacteria, which spread by infected ticks.

A common sign of infection is an area of ​​redness on the skin, known as Erythrema Migrans (EM), which begins at the bite point and spreads about a week after the bite .

It is a neurological condition that causes headaches, fever, joint pain, lethargy, sleep disturbances and mobility. These can progress to symptoms similar to chronic fatigue / EM, MS, arthritis, fibromyalgia, facial paralysis, meningitis, memory loss, deafness, epileptic seizures.

Not all people with the disease have all of these symptoms and many of the symptoms are not specific to Lyme disease. Many patients report the disease for decades, after having changed, then changed again, severity and concentration.

The initial recognized antibiotic treatment is doxycycline, but it is effective only if it is given a few hours after the tick bite. that part of the Lyme bacteria can survive antibiotics for one year after treatment. And in any case, antibiotics can not be prescribed for more than four weeks.

I contracted the disease myself in 2005, and I am now specializing in the treatment of Lyme disease by alternative methods to pharmaceuticals.

I focus on the holistic approach, using herbs, supplements, diet, vitamin protocols, a lifestyle change and exercise, if possible.

The act of removing a tick can be tricky. Always use solvents (a special pliers), which can be purchased from your local pharmacist, veterinarian or online. Always wear gloves. I am aware of a case involving a girl who removed a tick from her dog, only to be bitten by the tick and she continued to develop the most serious complications, which lasted more than six years.

A family member, although aware of Lyme disease and who reminded him to wear protective clothing when he was walking his dog, chose to wear sandals. When she arrived home, she noticed a tick on her leg just above her ankle. Despite several strategies, she failed to remove the tick. Knowing the implications and suspecting the Lyme tick, she called the ambulance service. They arrived and for two hours tried to remove the tick. Finally the body is gone, leaving the head pressed into his leg. She was then taken to the hospital, and although in an area familiar with Lyme ticks, they also could not remove the then detached head.

Prevention

Hungry ticks respond to carbon dioxide (humans and animals exhale carbon dioxide), body heat, odors, physical disturbances and use their stimuli to locate their hosts. It is therefore recommended that farmers, hikers, loggers, campers, dog walkers, especially in spring and summer, ensure that their feet, toes and legs, arms, body and head are protected by a covering.

Remember to put pants in socks and wear a hat. It is not necessary to be dressed as a beekeeper, but there are reasonable precautions to make sure that the tick is not easily snagged by the body and gaining foothold

Future

It should be noted that although people with Lyme disease report their condition for several decades, there is no specific test protocol and not all organizations wish to do so to know the prevalence of Lyme disease.

The catalyst that propelled Lyme disease into the public arena only occurred because celebrities suffered from this disease.

This group asked and was willing to pay for medical care.

John Caudwell, the British billionaire, a mobile phone retailer who co-founded Phones 4U, suffered from Lyme disease, as did a number of family members.

This led him to set up charity, Caudwell Lyme.

Unfortunately, too many people with Lyme disease in Ireland are still neglected and ignored. Many have suffered for decades – a shameful situation.

When I contracted Lyme Disease in 2005, it spurred me to do research and vigorous research on ways and methods of disease mitigation in order to prevent the spread of the disease. to have a useful life and to look to the future with hope and anticipation. .

I treat myself with herbs, supplements, vitamins, I have a planned diet, I jog every day, I swim two to three times a week, I frequent the gym about twice a week and I enjoy gardening and traveling.

So there is hope and light at the end of the tunnel, but it has to be actively worked on and reviewed intermittently.

I continued my research and treatment plans, and now have patients all over the country and around the world.

Helga Frost BSc (Biology), MSc (Zoology) is also a naturopath and herbalist. She runs in Bantry, Schull and Durrus and can be contacted at 027-61050.